San Juan district suspends five Del Campo JV players, coach for fight

San Juan Unified School District officials suspended five Del Campo High School JV baseball players and a coach after concluding an investigation into a brawl that occurred during a game against Yuba City in a tournament April 2 at Granite Bay High School.

The incident was captured on video, totaling nearly four minutes, and posted on YouTube. It shows Yuba City players racing from their third-base dugout across the diamond to the first-base side, where punches were thrown for about 20 seconds before coaches and officials separated the players.

The video doesn’t show the origin of the incident, but the Marysville Appeal-Democrat reported on its website the fight happened in the sixth inning when Yuba City pitcher Jaylon Deas threw the ball at Del Campo’s first-base coach and then charged the coach in response to comments the coach made toward the Yuba City dugout.

Trent Allen, senior director of community relations with the SJUSD, said Wednesday two Del Campo players were suspended for two games each and three players will serve one-game suspensions. A coach also received a one-game suspension.

“We’re certainly glad we had an opportunity to investigate and look at what happened,” Allen said. “Sportsmanship is something we hold very dear and close.”

Yuba City Unified issued multiple suspensions last week, though Superintendent Nancy Aaberg said she couldn’t confirm how many, based on confidentiality policy. The district’s investigation was ongoing Wednesday, leaving open the possibility of expulsions and punishment on adults.

At least three Yuba City players who threw punches were identifiable by jersey number on the video, and a handful of adults went onto the infield. One female Yuba City supporter slung obscenities at an unidentified male who ordered her to leave the park.